Collared (Going to the Dogs) (22 page)

“I appreciate that, Shane.”

Caleb worked her hard, until she was sweating. Sweating more than she ever had in her life. He taught her how to hit a bag and then the punching ball, laughing at her as it went every which way and once hit her in the face. She had to admit that she was having a great time with him. He was a good teacher and showed her how to put her weight behind a punch. Told her in the streets she had to make it count.

She liked watching him, too, with other people. Many, many times he’d been interrupted when men he knew entered the gym. She had been especially interested in the conversation he and one guy had about the Yankees. It was clear that he loved the team, but that wasn’t too much of a stretch since he was from the Bronx. It gave her a little thrill to find out something personal about him, even if she was eavesdropping on his conversations.

She also loved how he included her in every single conversation, as well as introducing her as his girlfriend.
His girlfriend.
Instead of making her want to run away, it warmed her heart more than she wanted to admit, even to herself.

“Okay, now let’s see what you can do in the ring. I’m sure you’d like to take a swing at me right about now.”

“You really want me to spar with you?”

“Sure. But I’m not going to hit you, princess.”

“How about your shoulder?” Her eyes raked down the side of his body with the fading bruises.

“It’s fine. Remember what I said. It’s good to go.”

She heard what he was saying. It was more like
he
was good to go. Was he teasing her again?

She narrowed her eyes at him. He was a big, gorgeous hunk of a man, and hitting him wasn’t exactly what she had in mind. He could swat her like a fly. He separated the ropes so she could get into the ring and he followed on her heels.

“Okay, remember what I said about your stance.”

She brought her gloves up, wondering what her Park Avenue friends would say about her now. Sweat flowing freely, her hair soaked, participating in fisticuffs. That truly made her smile when she thought about some of the men she’d dated, men who only sweated in a controlled environment and still managed to keep every hair in place.

Not Caleb. His hair was mussed and damp, locks of it falling across his forehead and making him look tough with that dark beard. He was so raw, so sexy right now. His muscles were glossy with sweat, making them stand out in relief.

He tapped her with his gloves and she startled out of her thoughts.

“Don’t get distracted,” he chided.

She started to dance back and forth. “Do you feel lucky, punk?”

He laughed and that gave her the first opening. She swung and hit him in the jaw. “Don’t get distracted,” she chided.

Caleb obviously knew how to defend himself. He was battle-hardened, and that made her even prouder that she got in a few good licks.

“That was so much fun.”

“Yeah, and you lasted longer than I thought you would.”

“I’m a trooper, too.”

Afterwards, he walked her outside. “I forgot to tell you. I checked on that guy for you. Makana Kaeo.”

“Oh, right.”

“He was clean as a whistle. Got his degrees just like he said, no priors, no wants. Nothing popped, not even a parking ticket. He and his mom live over on Elm. The only thing I found that was out of the ordinary was on his birth certificate.”

“What was that?”

“His father is listed as unknown.”

“Okay. Hmmm. Well, thank you for checking that out for me.”

Harper looked at her watch. “Oh, God, I’ve got a benefit and I’m going to be late. I’ll spare you this tonight. Call me tomorrow. Okay?”

He nodded.

“Oh, do you have a tux?”

“No.”

“Rent one. You’re going to need it for our next outing.” She giggled as she got into the limo.

“A tux? Ah, damn.”

“A tux?” Shane said as he leaned back in his chair. “Well it’s got to be one of three things.”

Caleb leaned forward, his thoughts not really on Shane’s speculation. He was thinking how he had missed her beside him last night.

“Are you listening?”

“What? Oh, yeah, right, three things.”

“You’ve got it bad, amigo. Anyway,” he held up his fingers and as he spoke he counted down. “Ballet. Symphony. Opera.”

“Geezus. I
detest
opera.”

“Ha! Then that’s probably what it will be. Murphy’s Law.”

Caleb rubbed his face. In addition to thinking about missing Harper he was thinking about her chauffeur and how she’d been so evasive about him. He’d interrogated more than enough suspects to know when someone wasn’t telling him everything. What was it with that guy? He wasn’t just some normal mook. He was at the very least former military and, unless Caleb missed his mark, the guy was most likely Special Forces.

“Shane?”

“Yeah, man.”

“What would you do if you had this gut hunch about someone, but if you investigated this gut hunch, it would be like a betrayal of a trust?”

“We’re cops, man. We can’t help that we’re suspicious of everyone and everything. Half the freaking time we’re right. Why don’t you spell it out for me?”

For a minute Caleb sat there rubbing at his beard. Shane was his partner and really his best friend. He trusted him with his life. “I had a run-in with Harper’s chauffeur, a Jeffrey Stevens. He attacked me in the dark because he thought I might be an intruder.”

“What the hell?” Shane sat upright. “You pressing charges?”

“No, it was a mistake, and after what they’ve been through, totally understandable. He didn’t know I was there.”

“Sleeping with the Lady of the Manor?”

“Focus, man.”

“Right. Continue.”

“I confronted Harper about it and she got defensive and evasive.”

Shane looked at him for a few minutes and then turned to his computer. He started typing. Caleb pushed away from his desk. “What are you doing?”

“Looking the fucker up.”

“What?”

“You care for this woman, right?”

“Yes, more than I should.”

“You’re a goner, stop fighting it. I say if you got a gut instinct, run with it.”

Up popped Jeffery Stevens on the screen. They went back through a few years of records, then there was nothing.

“Damn, this guy didn’t exist three years ago.”

Something stirred in Caleb. “Run him through face recognition.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. It’s admirable, but Harper is very loyal to the people she cares about. That includes her employees. It was like prying gold out of Midas’s hand to get her to agree to give me a list of her employees and friends.”

“All right. It might take some time, though.”

“That’s all right. I can only hope that she decides to trust me before I have to do anything unpleasant.”

“We’re cops, man. Most of what we do is unpleasant.” Shane leaned back in his chair. “So am I going to get to see you in a monkey suit?”

“No,” Caleb said.

“Aw, c’mon. I bet you’ll look really dapper.” He scrunched up his shoulders and his face. “And sooooo pretty.”

“No.”

“Damn, man. You are no damn fun,” he groused.

#

“Oh, hell, no, Harper.”

She turned to look at him as they approached the Met. Giving him a sly smile, she said, “What are you saying? You can’t last five minutes in my world?”

He closed his eyes and turned towards her. “I’m begging you. Give me a pass on this one.”

She shook her head. “We have a rivalry. If you don’t hold up your side of the bargain, that means you forfeit.”

“I don’t like forfeiting,” he growled.

She turned back to look at the glittering building. Harper laughed softly.

“You’re enjoying this.”

“It’s payback for making me sweat.”

“You enjoyed your time in the gym. Admit it.”

“I’ll answer that after you attend the opera with me.”

He groaned and she slipped her arm through his. “I can’t let all this gorgeousness go to waste. You look scrumptious in that tux, like a movie star. I can hardly wait to unbutton and unzip you out of it.”

He stopped and cupped her face, “Let’s go right now. I’m already hard for you.”

“Nice try, copper. No dice.”

“You are a cruel woman.”

She dragged him forward, and into the lobby. Harper loved the Metropolitan Opera House, part of the larger complex of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The beauty of it lit up at night was breathtaking. She was hoping once the performance started and Caleb had a chance to experience it first-hand he would fall in love with it.

As they headed towards the sweeping crimson staircase below two crystal chandeliers that looked like starbursts of light against a gold leaf ceiling, Caleb leaned toward her and whispered in her ear, “I will say this is a grand sight.” She smiled at his attempt to have a good time.

“Harper, is that you?”

Harper closed her eyes at the voice. Damn. Mary Jane Simpson.” She
so
didn’t want to subject Caleb to that she-cat.

She tried to move a little faster and pretend she hadn’t heard Mary Jane, but it was too late. The woman grabbed her shoulder, and they had to turn around. Caleb gave her a quizzical look. Harper plastered a fake smile on her face.

When they turned around and slipped to the side and out of the crowd moving toward the performance hall, Harper had to endure watching Mary Jane hone right in on Caleb. Her eyes warmed and she stared at him like he was a juicy piece of red meat and she was the tiger.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” she said, not even looking at Harper. Harper tightened her arm through his and he glanced at her again.

“Detective Caleb Shaw,” he said, holding out his hand.

She took it in both of hers, and when he tried to pull away, she held onto him.

“Detective? Really. As in police…?”

“Oh, sure, I got a shield and a gun. I chase bad guys and swill coffee…”

“And eat doughnuts,” Harper said.

Caleb laughed.

“Oh, no. I don’t think Detective Shaw—may I call you Caleb?—eats any doughnuts. I’m sure you’re sporting a six-pack under that shirt, mister.”

When Mary Jane reached out to find out for herself, Harper grabbed her hand and patted it. “Let’s not maul my guest, Mary Jane. Shall we?”

“You’re no fun, Harper. So proprietary.”

“Caleb’s not an object, Mary Jane.”

“Ooh that’s the first time I’ve ever seen you be snippy. Always wondered what it would take to reveal that tough side of you I’ve heard about. Well, I guess you saw him first,” she said with a tight smile.

“In the debutante handbook, what’s that? Finders keepers?”

Both women looked at him and then Mary Jane laughed, but Harper didn’t find it funny. Once they said their goodbyes to that hussy, Harper and Caleb settled into the exclusive Center Parterre.

“These are great seats, smack dab in the middle.”

“Yes, VIP seating.”

He slipped his arm along the back of her seat. “I love the privacy.”

“Don’t get any ideas, Caleb.” Harper was still fuming over the way Mary Jane had treated Caleb. She wanted to punch her right in the face. Really, was there anyone in her circle who was genuine and considerate? She was so glad to have Brooke, Poe and Callie. So glad.

“I wasn’t,” he said. He turned to look at her. She felt his gaze on her face. “Harper?”

“Yes,” she said, glancing at him as the constant, colorful stream of people in the hall below them looked for their seats.

“We’re you embarrassed by me out there with Mary Jane?”

She turned to look at him, her heart lurching in her chest. “What? No! Why would you say that?”

“You tried to give her the bum’s rush pretty fast, and you didn’t laugh at my debutante handbook joke.”

She smiled then, because he looked so pensive, and it wasn’t often she saw him look anything but confident. She cursed Mary Jane. She reached over and stroked her gloved hand along his cheek. Then with a huff, she pulled off the glove and touched him again. “She made me angry, treating you like you were some kind of gigolo instead of giving you the respect that’s due one of New York’s finest.”

He smiled, and that look in his eyes evaporated. “I’m used to women coming on to me. Like I said, I don’t need a girl to fight my battles.”

“I don’t care. I defend the people I love.”

“What did you say?”

With a lurch, she realized what she’d just said. “You know what I mean. People I care about,” she backpedaled.

His eyes softened and she got lost in the sexy brown depths. “Yeah,” he said softly, “I know what you mean.”

The house lights finally dimmed and the opera began. Caught up in the beauty of the music, Harper didn’t immediately pay attention to Caleb. When she looked at him as the soprano began singing, he was looking at his watch.

“Your five minutes are up. I’m out of here.”

He rose and exited the box. Harper laughed softly to herself and rose to follow him. She saw his retreating back as he descended the stairs. That man looked good both coming and going. She followed after him.

“Caleb,” she called out to him and he turned. Underneath the lights his hair gleamed—ack, he was so damn beautiful!

“I’d rather face all those little girls again than sit through hours of that.”

“All right. What do you want to do instead?”

He raised his brows.

“I’ve got an idea.”

“What?” he asked as she slipped her arm through his and they walked out of the Met together.

“I have a house in the Hamptons. We could pick up the dogs and have a picnic on the beach. I know this great B&B, and the owners would be able to put something delicious together by the time we get there.”

“It’s three hours to the Hamptons, and I have to work tomorrow.”

“Not if we fly,” she smiled. “It’s about 35 minutes.”

“I keep forgetting you don’t live like us normal people.”

“I’m normal.”

“Like hell you are. Well, for our next outing, all you’re going need is an outrageous cup, a bathing suit and an empty belly.”

“The way you’re telling me makes me think I’m not going to enjoy your turn. Is this payback?”